Tennis net



Oct. 28, 1952 J. B. MOORE TENNIS NET Filed July 1'7, 1947 5 Ell l'ilhfl'li INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,615,715 TENNIS NET James Ballard Moore, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 17, 1947, Serial NO. 761 467 19 Claims.

This invention relates to a tennis netparticu larly but not necessarily adapted for tournament play, exhibition contests, and for use by more expert tennis players. The net is likewise adaptable for play by less prOficient players.

An object of the invention is to provide a net constructed and arranged to prevent particularly service fault balls which are served against the upper portion of the net from rolling or bounding back onto that side of the playing surface of the court from which they are served.

Another object of the invention resides in providin a tennis net constructed and arranged so that while preservin the normal appearance, construction and playing features of a standard net insofar as normal tennis play is concerned, the net is likewise constructed and arranged to catch and retain particularly a fault service ball served against the upper portion of the net and will hold the ball at the bottom of the net, out of the way yet easily retrievable, so that it will not constitute a menace or a disturbanc to the players by rolling or bouncing onto the playing surface of the court.

Yet another object of the invention resides in providing a tennis net of substantially the standard make, provided with a pair of ball catching net's, together with means for supporting them so that one ball catching net is disposed on each side of the standard or main net, with their top edges substantially below the vertical horizontal middle portion of the standard net and positioned and operable at this low level automatically to catch and retain substantially all of the fault services that strike that upper portion of the standard or main or central net above the ball catchingnets.

'Yet another object resides in providing such a net that may be quickly and easily converted to a standard net having no ball catching function, and vice versa.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a tennis'net constructed and arranged to utilize the impact of the ball against the net to provide a ball catching pocket in a net portion which normally and ordinarily lies snugly against the main portion of the net.

Yet another object of the invention resides in providing a ball retaining tennis net comprising a main net of standard construction and having substantially low ball retaining nets disposed in parallelism and adjacent the main net on each side thereof, together with means pendulously supported by the main net for retaining said ball retaining nets in such position whereby the im- 2 pact of the ball against the upper portion of the main net above the ball catching nets is uti= lized to provide a pocket between the main net and the ball catching net on the side of the main net facing the server, which will ordinarily re= tain the ball in the net and at the base of thenet, off the playing surface of the court.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new type of center strap for the improved net.

Another object or the invention resides alternatively in providing a main Ilet modified in (30h struction such that preferably the upper central portion thereof 0961 a zone included i'nthe ord i nary servin 'Z'Oi'l "for a predetermined distance 1atera11y on both sides (if 'the'c'en'ter fhei'of is constructed so as to produce alofose'ne'ss or extra bellowing fiiit when the ball impacts against such top portion of the net, and particularly at and around the center strap, whereby to prevent the ball from rebounding and causing "it to quickly downth'e net toward the base of theiie't, and. this construction is associated With the ball catching nets which are supported normally parauel and adjacent to the Vertical plane; of the main net and. along and parallel to th e bottom portion 'of the main net whereby a fault service or whereby adriv'en ball that, during play, str kes the main net above the top edge or either ban catching net, win automatically form a pocket between the main net and the ball catching net and will cause the ball to r011 down the side or the main net into the pocket and'be retained.

These and other objects of the invention be apparent from a perusal of the following speci fication when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of one form of the improved net;

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2- of Figure 1; Y

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-'-3- of Figure 1, but showing the ball impacting the top portion of the net and showing the manner in which the ball runs down the net intothe catch net:

Figure 41s an enlarged view of the central er: tion of the main net, the two catch nets, 'and't-he improved center strap;

Figure 5 is a view showing the manner in which the bottom portions of the main net and the two catch nets are finished and their relative pose tions with respect to one form of the invention; I Figure 6 shows the three nets bound to ether at the bottoms; and

Figure! is still a further modification, Show:

3 ing the two catch nets formed of a single piece and extending around the bottom of the main net throughout its length.

The present invention eliminates the annoyance and the danger entailed when a server serves a ball which does not go over the net, and which i not a net or let ball, but which strikes the upper portion of the net and either rolls or bounds back on that side of the court from which the service is produced. At the present time much delay, annoyance and hazard is presented by fault balls striking the upper portion of the net and being reflected backwardly onto the court. In singles the server generally has to stop his service, go forward, and deflect the grounded balls from the playing surface of the court, thereby distracting th service, delaying the play, and annoying the server. Or in doubles, the servers partner at the net is subjected to the hazard of stepping on the ball if it is left on the court, or the hazard of the server striking the ball with the ball being served if it be left on the service court, and further, the partner playing the net i distracted from play because he must either leave his position and deflect the ball off the playing surface of the court or must keep his eye on the ball on the ground while the second ball is being served, with the danger that the receiver will direct the ball at the net player when his attention is directed to the ball lying on the court at his feet. In addition, in championship play under the present conditions it is necessary for ball boys, between the first and second services,

' when the first service is a fault, to rush across the court and gather up the faultily served ball and remove it from the court, thereby necessitating a delay in the second service with its consequent distraction to the server in serving the second ball and the consequent distraction of the audience from the players themselves to the ball boys and the consequent delay in play. The present invention eliminates substantially the great majority of all these delays, annoyances, inconveniences and hazards to the players.

The invention comprises a tennis net which includes a standard main net, a pair of substantially lower ball catching nets, one arranged on each side of and adjacent the main net and parallel thereto and substantially lower than the level of the main net. These ball catching nets are disposed in parallelism with and snugly alongside the lower portion of the standard net, and the nets provide a construction wherein the impact of a ball against the upper portion of the main net and above the catch net on that side of the main net will automatically provide a ball catching pocket between the main net and said lower catch net so that the ball in striking the upper portion of the main net will roll down the main net into the pocket at the base of the net in such a way that normal tennis play can in no way be interfered with. The invention is predicated upon the utilization of the impact of the ball against the side of the main net above the catch net for providing the pocket between these two parallel nets which are normally snugly close together and in parallelism at the bottom portion of the main net.

In general, the main net is a standard net, substantially three feet high at the center, and the tops of the two ball catching nets which extend across the playing surface are substantially ten inches above the playing court so that by far the majority of well directed services, if faulty services and not going over the net, will strike the upper surface of the main standard net and the main net will be bellied outwardly, for a suificient interval of time, away from the ball catching not which is normally against the main net, to provide a pocket so that the ball will run down the main net and into the pocket thus formed. After this interval of time the two nets will return to normal position where they are snugly close together, one against each other and in parallelism, so as not to interfere in play. In no instance can the ball catching nets as thus constructed interfere with play because, being snugly against the main net, they do not project outwardly in play on either side, and only at the time of impact is there any appreciable gap therebetween, and this is formed automatically and the two nets thereafter resume their normal snugly adjacent, parallel position.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, I have illustrated the invention as preferably applied to a standard type of net installed in position between the usual standard type of end posts 2 and 4 which are positioned the standard distances outside of the longitudinal outer lines of either a singles court or a doubles court. For instance in the singles court they should be three feet outside of the outer lines of the singles court, and in a doubles court they are three feet outside of the outside alley line of the doubles court. The standard net is thirty-three feet wide for a singles court and forty-two feet wide for a doubles court. The standard net 6 is of any desirable mesh. The prevailing mesh is a square mesh having vertically extending cords 8 and horizontally extending cords la, the same being knotted at their intersections as at [2 in the customary manner. The standard net is provided with a top binding l4 through which runs a preferably wire cable [6 which runs over a pulley in the top of the side post 4 and has its end looped to extend over a bracket or fastener 1 to hold it to the side post. The opposite end of the cable [6 runs over the usual pulley on the opposite side post 2 and thence is coiled around a pin on a rotatable ratchet winch so as to tighten the top of the net. The height of the net at the center is adjustably controlled or held down by a center strap 20 which adjusts the height of the net so that it will be a maximum of three feet high at the center. The standard center strap is not more than two inches wide. The top binding [4 which encloses the cable 16 extends from the top of the net downwardly for not less than two inche and not more than two and one half inches in depth on each side. At each end of the net the top binding I4 is provided with grommets to which are affixed the usual pair of additional cords 22 and 24 of standard construction and which are attached to the posts 2 and 4 at the top in any desired manner so as to pull the top band [4 taut in a direction transversely of the length of the court. The bottom portion of the main net is preferably bound, see Figure 4, and at the ends this binding is provided with cords 32 passing around the bases of the posts 2 and 4 whereby to hold the main net substantially taut with its ends substantially flush with the posts 2 and 4. Inasmuch as it i not necessary to draw the bottom part of the net as tight as the upper part, only a relatively small diameter rope is utilized here and it is not pulled nearly as tight as the wire cable or rope [6 at the top of the net.

The usual center strap 20 is a looped or endless double band the long sides of which extend on each side from the top of the main net downwardly to the bottom on each side of the main net as shownin Figure 2, where it swivels to a snap hook which detachably passes about a pin 38 positioned in a short pipe 40 fixed in the ground at the center part of the court. In this manner the center strap may be detached from the pin '38 which remains stationary in the ground at all times. The main center strap 20 is provided with any type of the usual buckle adjustment whereby its length may be adjusted to exactly limit the height of the netat the center to three feet. This adjustment for the main center strap is preferably positioned low down of the net, below the top level of one of the catch nets hereinafter referred to. In the present instance the standard center strap is modifled by providing it with two additional straps, one on each side. These straps are shown at 4'2 and 44 and they are either stitched or detacha'bly-fastened as at 4B and 48 to the upper side portions of the main center strap 20 just opposite the bottom edges 52 of the opposite sides of theupper binding l4 of the net. This upper binding of the net carries at its bottom edge preferably two rows of stitching 52 which extend the full length of the net and are adapted particularly to unite the mesh cord'fabric 8 and ID of the net with the upper binding. This square arranged mesh cord terminates in an upper horizontal strand which lies above the double row of heavy stitching 52 and whereby the cord section of'the net is carried by the binding. Other ways for uniting the binding l4 and the upper edge of the cord net mesh body l0 and I2 may be utilized, but the present one is preferred in this particular instance as a simple manner of attaching the binding and the cord portion of the net.

' The two straps 42 and 44 depend freely downwardly and each is provided preferably with an adjustable buckle 41 for adjusting the length of these separate straps 42 and 44. Each strap at its bottom is provided with a connection 54 or 56 with a hook 58 and 60 which hooks pass through grommets 62 and 64 formed in the side of the top bindings G6 and 68 of the auxiliary or ball retaining nets hereinafter described.

- The'two auxiliary or ball retaining nets and 12 are provided for a purpose hereinafter set forth.- These nets preferably extend the entire length of the main net 6, terminating at the ends 14 and 16 substantially flush with the ends of the main net. Each one of these catch nets may be and preferably is provided with a top binding 66 and 68 and a lower binding 82 and 84 each of-which lies parallel and relatively close to the lower binding of the main net. It is preferred that these three bindings be flush with one another and relatively close to the ground, that is, substantially touching the ground throughout the entire length of the main net. .In the preferred form the end portions of the bottom bindings 82 and 84 of the catch nets are provided with ropes 86 and 88 whereby the bottom end portions of the smaller or catch nets 10 and T2 are independently attached to the bottom portions of the posts. In the same manner the upper bindings 66 and 68 of these smaller nets .10 and I2 are provided with relatively small ropes or relatively small cables, the ends of which as at 94 and -96 extend beyond the ends of the net and attach to brackets 98 and I00 spaced about 10 inches from the bottoms of the end posts 2 and 4. In this manner the nets 10 and 12 may be spread across the court, the upper bindings 66 and being held 'ta ut by means ofthe cords 94 and 96 attached to the brackets v 98 and J00 and the lower bindings in similar manner being attached to the bottoms of the end posts 2 and 4. The centers of these lower nets-10 and 12 by means of the grommets 62 and 54 are each attached to' the hooks 5B and 60' which'pass therethrough, whereby thecenters'o'f these lower ball catching nets l0 and 12 are suspended by means of the pendulum arms or straps or cords 42 and 44 from the main center strap 20. These pendulum straps or'cords or arms are attached at 46 and 4 8 to the opposite upper sides of the main center strap 20, whichcenter strap in turn is held by the taut wire cable [6 stretched across the usual center posts 2 and 4, and the bottoms of the pendulum strapsor cords or arms 4'2 and 44 are pivotally connected" through the grommets 62 and "64 through the top center portions of the ball catchingnets 10 and 12. Bymeans of this construction, as shown clearly in Figure 3, when a ball served strikes the net above the top edge of either of the ball catching nets Ill and 12, for example at; the pointshown in Figure '3, the impact of the ball will force the main net rearwardly and this movement of the main net as a whole rearwardly will tend to lower the upper edgeof the central part of the net a slight amount, such for instance as shown by the arrows' 'lOZ in Figure 3. This dropping of the main net and the center strap 20 causes acorresponding lowering of the pivotal points 46' and 48 at which the pendulum straps 42 and 44 are attached to the main center strap, thereby removing some of the tension on these'arms 42 and 44 so that the rearward movement of the main net and its center strap will not, through the intermediary of the pendulum arms or straps or cords 42 and 44 tend to also pull the top portion of the ball catching net 10 in the same direction. In short, the ball catching net will tend to remain where it is because the upward tension on the suspension arm or strap 42, as shown in Figures 2' and 4, has actually been lessened by a slight lowering of the center strap the distance m2 of Figure 3. Thus by the shortening of this distance and by the use of these pendulum arms or straps the tops of the ball catching'nets I0 and 12 will be supported substantially independently of any quick movement of the main net or of the main center strap. It is this quick impactual movement of the main net, coupled with the fact that the portion of the main net above the top edges of the ball catching nets 10 and 12 is supported by the taut steel cable at the top and the fact that the main net is relatively more loosely stretched at the bottom, which causes the ball, when it hits any portion of the main net above the top edges of the ball catching nets I0 and 12, to cause the net to belly out rearwardly in a direction as shown in Figure 3, and which likewise causes the ball to roll or run down the net in the direction of the arrows "shown in Figure 3. And it is also the impactual movement of the ball on this main net and the fact that the lower ball catching net on the same side on which the main net is impacted by the ball tends to remain still, that causes a pocket automatically to be formed between the main net and the ball catching net so that the ball will run into this pocket and be trapped therein, and this action takes place during the residual effect of the impact of the ball on" the net and for a sufiicient time thereafter so that the ball will run down the net and will lodge between the main net and the ball catching net at a lower position therebetween than is illustrated in Figure 3, and the ball will thence run down a considerable distance between the two nets and be held, or if the bottoms of the two nets are open the ball will be deposited and held by the drag of the outer net close to the base of the main net. Thus the ball will be out of play and off the court. It will be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact height of the ball catching nets 1!! and 12 as herein illustrated, but is broad enough to include various adiustments or heights of these auxiliary nets l and 12 with relation to the height of the main net. The present relative dimensions of the ball catching nets and the main net have been selected because they are found to give excellent results under actual playing conditions and further because by making the height of the auxiliary nets substantially nine to twelve inches from the ground, preferably ten inches, as compared with the three foot height of the main net, a very high percentage of first services which are faulty and do not pass over the net will be caught in that portion of the main net above the top edges of the ball retrieving nets and will be deflected downwardly and into the pocket between the main net and the adjacent ball catching net. It will be noted of course that the construction is duplicated on each side of the main net so that from whichever side service is made the ball will be deflected downwardly and will be held.

In Figure 5 I have illustrated the bottom dges of the three nets as being independent of one another and I have provided the lower edges 82 and 84 of the ball catching nets l0 and 12 as below the lower edge of the main net so as to retain the ball at the base of the main net well out of play, and so that the ball cannot roll over the court.

In Figure 6 I have illustrated a modification where all three nets are bound together either by a stitching or by a common binding band except that in this instance at the center portion of the net where the center strap is located there remains an aperture through which the main center strap passes to engage the pin 38 in the fixture in the ground.

In Figure 7 I have illustrated the two ball catching nets as being a single net which will loop around the bottom edge of the main net and in this construction the bottom portion of the U-shaped trough portion of the auxiliary lower net may be interlaced to the bottom portion of the main net or may be free thereof. In Figure '7, of course, it will be understood that the side edge portions and the main net may be provided with tying cords to tie to the bottom portion of the posts, in which case a single tying rope at each end will suffice for the three nets, or the U-shaped net and the main net may have separate cords to be attached to the bottom edges of the side posts.

If desired, a certain amount of resiliency may be introduced into the cords 94 and 96 which attach the top edges of the ball catching nets to the vertical posts 2 and 4.

It will also be understood that the auxiliary nets 1D and 12 do not have to extend the entire length of the main net 6 as they may stop short of the ends of the main net provided they are suspended in the manner hereinbefore indicated, that is, they may be provided of such length when considered in a direction parallel with the main net so that their effective length will cover any service portion of the court. For instance, it is not important for service purposes that they extend to cover the alley portions of the net, and yet in certain instances where the net is utilized for retrieving balls which are played after service and do not pass over the net but are caught by the net and held therein, in this case the ball catching nets would extend the entire length of the main net.

In certain instances where a net is wholly new and relatively-stiff, it may be that until the net has been used a few days or left outdoors so that the cords near the upper part of the top binding of the net, and particularly at the central portion of the net near the center strap, have become more flexible and pliable, that a certain percentage of the balls which strike close to the top of the top binding of the net near the center strap will tend to bounce outwardly under impact of the ball against that portion of the net so as to miss the lower ball catching nets.

' This is due to the newness of the net and its lack of flexibility. In such instances this tendency for the ball not to roll down the net until the upper meshes of the net have become more pliable under repeated and successive impacts of the ball for a short period, may be overcome by arranging the mesh cords of the net at this partlcular zone, or in fact the entire net, in a manner to produce an excess of flexibility at these points or an excess of what I term a shirring or fullness or to produce a mushy effect, which means that under impact of the ball the cords will not remain so taut when new that they will cause the ball to bounce outwardly and not permit it to run down. This mushy effect can be most economically produced by disposing those vertical cords 8 of the net which are relatively close to the center strap slightly closer together in their spaced apart relation while leaving the horizontal cords the standard distance apart. For instance, in the standard type of square mesh tennis net the vertical cords are substantially one and three quarters inches apart and the horizontal cords are substantially one and three quarters inches apart, throughout the entire net. By placing the vertical cords slightly closer together and stitching them in this position, that is, not so close together as to cause an unsightly appearance to the net but slightly closer together than the one and three quarters inches distance apart, a fullness can be imparted to the central portions of the net on each side of the center strap for a suflicient distance outwardly toward each end of the net so that any service balls which impact this part of the net will strike this fullness and will bellow the net outwardly as shown in Figure 3, run down the net, and be caught by the ball catching net. There are many ways of arranging the cord mesh structure for producing this fullness. The net mesh may be woven to produce this fullness. This fullness may be produced also by bringing the horizontal cords, as well as the vertical, closer together, or both horizontal and vertical cords closer together, or by a diagonal disposition of the cords forming the mesh. The fullness may be produced throughout the length of the net or only at the central portion for a sufficient distance outwardly so that the service balls strike the more flexible portion of the net and go down. It has been noticed that the further away from the center strap that the ball strikes on a new net, the greater is the tendency of the ball to roll down the net, and it is only 9 around the zonev of. the center strap on. anew net that. the ball tends to bounce back and not rundown the net, but this'occurs for only a short time after the net has been in use. As soon as the net has been used for a very short time, due

to the impacting of the. ball against the upper cords of the net they will be loosened sufficiently necessary to produce the extra fullness inthe cords of the net in the manner hereinbefore described, and yet in some instances where. the same is demanded, it can be produced in a simple manner in the manner hereinbefore. described, and it'can likewise be produced in other manners than those herein described.

It is apparent that many widely different embodiinents of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore it is not intended to be limited except as indicated in the appended claims.

Having, thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A tennis net including means for stretching the same transversely across the center of a tennis court at a predetermined height above the playing surface of the court, said net including a main tennis net, a pair of auxiliary nets, means for supporting said auxiliary nets on opposite sides of said main net andv with the top edges of said auxiliary nets disposed substantially below the level of the top of said main tennis net and with the top opposed edges. and the vertically disposed planes of the auxiliary nets normally disposed in juxtaposition to. the opposed sides of the main net. andcloser tothe sides of the main net than the diameter of a standard tennis ball, said auxiliary netsv when so supported normally lying substantially parallel to and adjacent the planes of the opposite vertical sides of the main net when the latter isstretch'ed in playing position whereby not to interfere with normal playing, said auxiliary net supporting means and said auxiliary nets in such position providing means operable on impact of a tennis ball against that portion of the main net extending above the upper edges of saidauxiliary nets automatically to form a ball retaining pocket to receive the ball as it drops from said upwardly extending main net portion.

2. A net of the character set forth in claim 1,

wherein means is provided for adjusting the height of the lower edges of said auxiliary nets relative to the lower edge of said main net.

. 3. A tennis net comprising a main net having means. for stretching the same. vertically between a pair of spaced posts across the center of a.

tennis court, said net having additional net portions normally disposed in parallelism with and contiguous to and on opposite sides of the vertical plane of said main net and with the tops of said parallel additional net portions disposed below the top surface of said main net and means for supporting said net portions normally to lie in normally disposed vertical planes substantially parallel to and snugly adjacent the opposed vertical sides of said main net, said. meansfor maintaining saidauxiliary net portions stretched in said parallel positions being operable so that the upperedges of saidportions are capable of relative. separation, from said main net upon impact of a tennis ball against the adjacent side of the main net above" the upper edge of one of said net portions whereby to form aball receiving opening between. said main net and said adjacent auxiliary net to receive the impacted ball.

4. Atennis net comprising a main net portion, a center strap for predetermining the height of the upper edge of said main net, said'main net having means for stretchingthe main net into playing position transversely across. the central portion of a tennis court, auxiliary nets disposed normally in-parallel adjacent relation to and on opposite sides of said main net, with the upper edge of the main net located substantially above the upper edges of said. auxiliary nets, means for supporting. said upper edges of'said auxiliary nets to, permit relative spreading movement/between the main net and the top surface of eitherone of said auxiliary nets whenthe adjacent face of said portion of said main net'extending above said auxiliary net is impacted by a tennis ball.

5. A net of the character set forth iniclaim 4 wherein the upper edge of said auxiliary nets is pendantly supported by flexible means pivotally supported from. a'position adjacent the upper edge of said main net.

6'. A tennis net adapted to be fastened in playing positionto a pair of spaced upright posts; on opposite sides of and spaced from the outer court lines and centrally of a tennis court comprising a main, tennis net and a pair of ball catching auxiliary nets, one ofsaid auxiliary nets being disposed on each side of said main net, said auxiliary nets being relatively short in height compared to the height of the main net, and means. for suspending said auxiliary nets substantially across at least the single court zone of said court withthe auxiliary nets lying normally snugly against the lower vertical portions of'the opposite sides of said mainv net, and parallel'to the plane of said main net whereby onim'pact'of a tennis ball against either side of the main net above the upper edge of an auxiliary net the ball will cause the main net to bulge outwardly away from the adjacent-ball catching net toform a pocket and whereby said ballwilltravel down the side of. said main net into said pocket.

7 A tennis net comprising a main net having flexible means at its top and bottom longitudinal edges for suspending said net between a pair of spaced upright posts across the center of a tennis court, a pair of substantially shorter auxiliary nets and means supported by-said main net -for supporting the auxiliary nets parallel to the plane of andadjacent the bottom opposed sides of saidmainnet.

8. A tennis net. comprising a main net having flexible means at its top and bottom longitudinal edges for suspending said net between a pair of spaced upright posts across the center-of a tennis court, a pair of substantially shorter auxiliary nets having flexible suspension means" at their upper opposed. ends 'whereby the auxiliary nets maybe suspended parallel to and adjacent the bottom, opposed sides of said main net, anda center strap operable on the top binding atthe center of said suspended main net and having means at its bottom to anchor in the center of the court, each opposed vertical length of said center stra having an elongat'ed auxiliary strap attached. at its. upper. end toa side of the center strap relatively below the top of said center strap, each of said auxilary straps extending pendulously downwardly and each connecting at its lower end to the center of an auxiliary net adjacent the top portion thereof.

9. A tennis net comprising a main net having upper and lower edge bindings and a cord mesh fabric therebetween, a suspension cable disposed in said upper binding for tautly stretching the net between a pair of upright posts on opposite sides of the center of a tennis court, and a pair of elongated auxiliary nets, means for restricting upward movement of the bottom edges of said auxiliary nets with respect to the bottom edge of the main net, and suspension means carried by the upper opposed edges of said auxiliary nets for connecting them to portions of said spaced uprights a distance substantially equal to the height of the auxiliary nets so that said three nets will lie in parallelism and with the auxiliary nets snugly adjacent the bottom side walls of the main net and with the major portion of the main net extending upwardly above the top edges of the auxiliary nets.

10. An auxiliary tennis net comprising one of a pair of identical nets, each such net being formed of open mesh fabric of sufficient size to prevent the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having an upper edge binding provided with means for suspending the same and provided at its upper and lower outer end portions with flexible cord means for stretching the net substantially taut in vertical position in parallelism to and closely adjacent the vertical face of a standard net, said auxiliary net being substantially one third the height of a standard tennis net. 4

11. An auxiliary tennis net comprising one of a pair of identical nets, each such net being formed of open mesh fabric of suflicient size to prevent the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having a lower edge fabric binding and provided at its upper and lower outer end portions with flexible cord means for stretching the net substantially taut in a vertical plane in parallelism to and closely adjacent the vertical plane of a standard net and with its bottom edge spaced from the playing surface of the court on opposite sides of the standard net.

12. A tennis net comprising a main net including a substantially rectangular mesh body portion having an upper binding with the top longitudinal edge thereof constructed to receive a suspension cable and rope adapted to be pulled taut between the usual center posts of a tennis court whereby to suspend the net with its mesh plane in vertical position, a pair of elongated ball retaining mesh nets and means for maintaining said ball retaining mesh nets on opposite sides of and in substantially parallel position relative to said mesh body portion of said main net and with the planes of said ball retaining nets disposed adjacent the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net.

13. A tennis net comprising a main net including a mesh body portion of transversely crossed cords forming mesh openings of insufiicient size to permit the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough having an upper binding for the top longitudinal edge thereof constructed to receive a suspension cable or rope adapted to be pulled taut between the usual center posts of a court whereby to suspend the net with its mesh plane in vertical position, a pair of auxiliary elongated ball retaining mesh nets, and means for maintaining said ball retaining nets on opposite sides of and in substantially parallel position relative to said mesh body portion of said main net and with the planes of said ball retaining nets disposed adjacent the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net, means for normally maintaining certain of the cords of the mesh of said body portion of said main net at and for a substantial distance on each side outwardly of the center of said mesh body portion closer together than the normal spacing of the cords of a standard tennis net, said means being operable under impact of said standard tennis ball thereagainst to cause said cords so impacted to spread relatively to dampen the rebound velocity of a tennis ball when projected thereagainst.

14. A tennis net comprising a main net including a mesh body of transversely crossed cords forming mesh openings of insuflicient size to permit the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having an upper binding for the top longitudinal edge thereof having means for connection to elongated suspension means adapted to be pulled taut between center posts of a court to suspend the net with its mesh plane normally in a vertical plane, a pair of auxiliary elongated ball retaining mesh nets, means for normally supporting said ball retaining nets on opposite sides of and with their mesh planes normally in substantially parallel relation to and in vertical planes adjacent to said mesh body portion of said main net and with said planes of said ball retaining nets disposed normally closer to the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net than the diameter of a standard tennis ball, certain of the cords of the mesh of said main net at the zone of the middle of said main net and for a substantial distance therealong from the vertical center of said main net outwardly oppositely toward each end of said main net being normally positioned relatively closer together, there being means for normally so holding said cords so closer together, said holding means and said relatively closer cords being operative on impact of a service ball thereagainst to move apart relatively to cause said main net at said service zone so impacted by said ball substantially to be bellied outwardly rearwardly to dampen rebound of said ball from said zonal portion and to cause said ball to move downwardly along said outwardly bellied portion of said main net and between said main net and one of said auxiliary ne s.

15. A tennis net comprising a main net including a mesh body of transversely crossed cords forming mesh openings of insufficient size to permit the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having an upper binding for the top longitudinal edge thereof having means for connection to elongated suspension means adapted to be pulled taut between center posts of a court to suspend the net with its mesh plane normally in a vertical plane, a pair of auxiliary elongated ball retaining mesh nets, means for normally supporting said ball retaining nets on opposite sides of and with their mesh planes normally in substantially parallel relation to and in vertical planes adjacent to said mesh body portion of said main net and with said planes of said ball retaining nets disposed normally closer to the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net than the diameter of a standard tennis ball, means disposed at the service zone of said main net for normally maintaining certain of the vertical parallel cords of the mesh of said net substantially closer together than the distance apart such vertical cords are normally positioned in a standard tennis net, said cords and their maintaining means being operative under impact of a service ball against certain of said vertical cords to spread relatively to dampen rebound therefrom and to cause said impacted cords to be bellied outwardly rearwardly and whereby said ball moves downwardly along said bellied portion between said main net and one of said auxiliary nets.

16. A tennis net comprising a main net including a mesh body of transversely crossed cords forming mesh openings of insufficient size to permit the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having an upper binding for the top longitudinal edge thereof having means for connection to elongated suspension means adapted to be pulled taut between center posts of a court to suspend the net with its mesh plane normally in a vertical plane, a pair of auxiliary elongated ball retaining mesh nets, means for normally supporting said ball retaining nets on opposite sides of and with their mesh planes normally in substantially parallel relation to and in vertical planes adjacent to said mesh body portion of said main net and with said planes of said ball retaining netsdisposed normally closer to the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net than the diameter of a standard tennis ball, means for varying the normal meshed arrangement and position of certain of the cords of the mesh of the main net at the central portion thereof and on those opposite zones thereof outwardly of said central portion as are most commonly impacted by service balls to cause a service ball on impacting certain of said mesh cords to shift said cords relatively sufficiently while preventing passage of the ball therethrough and also tocause said main net at such impacted zone to be bellied rearwardly to dampen normal rebound of said ball from said main net at said service zones and to cause said ball to travel down the face of said main net between said main net and the auxiliary net on that side of the main net impacted by said service ball.

17. A tennis net comprising a main net incaused to be bellied rearwardly whereby to cause said impacting tennis ball to travel down the face of said main net and thence between said face and said one auxiliary net.

,18. A tennis net comprising a main net including a substantially rectangular mesh body portion having an upper binding with the top longitudinal edge thereof constructed to receive a suspension cable and rope adapted to be pulled taut between the usual center posts of a tennis court whereby to suspend the net withits mesh plane in vertical position, a pair of elongated ball retaining mesh nets and elongatedpendulous means connected to said upper binding for maintaining said ball retaining mesh nets pendulously suspended on opposite sides of and in substantially parallel position relative to said mesh body portion of said main net and with the planes of said ball retaining nets disposed adjacent the plane of said mesh body portion of said main net.

19. A tennis net comprising a centrally disposed substantially rectangular body of mesh net of sufficiently small mesh to prevent the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net being formed at its top longitudinal edge with a top binding having means to receive an elongated flexible suspension means adapted to be tensioned between the usual center posts of a tennis court, a pair of ball retaining auxiliary nets,

means for mounting said auxiliary retaining nets on opposite sides of said central net in substantially parallel adjacent relation thereto, the cen tral zone of said centrally disposed substantially rectangular body of mesh net, which central zone substantially corresponds with thatfzone of the net against which the majority of service balls impact having means providing a greater fullness and yieldability of the net mesh under servcluding a mesh body of transversely crossed cords,

forming mesh openings of insuflicient size to permit the passage of a standard tennis ball therethrough, said net having an upper binding for the top longitudinal edge thereof having means for connection to elongated suspension means adapted to be pulled taut between center posts of a court to suspend the net with its mesh plane normally in a vertical plane, a pair of auxiliary elongated ball retaining mesh nets, said pair of auxiliary ball retaining nets having their upper edges substantially in the same horizontal plane and disposed substantially below the top binding of the main net, there being means for mounting said auxiliary nets in such position including means to cause that one of the auxiliary nets located on that side of and below that portion of the impacted face of the main net to remain substantially in its normal vertical plane until after said main net has been impacted and ice ball impact at said central zone at the center of which the center strap is located, than the 'yieldability' and fullness of those mesh portions of said net outwardly oppositely of said central zone to the opposite ends of said net, whereby under impact of the service ball said net mesh at said central zone yields laterally and rearwardly sufiiciently to dampen the rebound of said service ball therefrom sufiiciently to cause said ball to travel downwardly along the vertical surface of 1 said centrally disposed body of mesh net and be retained between said central mesh net and the adjacent ball retaining net.

JAMES BALLARD MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

